How Sweet It Is: Mars Sees Success From NFL Partnership

As demonstrated by The Hershey Co.’s new five-year partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee, candy makers are finding sponsorship to their liking. more...

Mars, Inc. in 2015 celebrated the return of M&M’s Crispy with a video homage to the NASCAR-themed movie Days of Thunder.

Mars, Inc. credits its long-running NFL partnership with playing a key role in driving double-digit sales growth for M&M’s and Snickers.

The candy giant uses the tie to drive preference and sales across the chocolate and non-chocolate confectionary categories including Snickers, M&M’s, Twix, Skittles and Starburst.

“Mars has a history of great results with our NFL partnership, particularly at the Super Bowl,” said William Clements, Mars Chocolate North America vice president of sponsorships and sports marketing.

Clements points to Skittles as an example. The chewy candy gained 1.91 billion earned media impressions during the 2015 Super Bowl and was the third most talked about brand during the game.

Skittles—which joined the NFL partnership in 2014—posted an 11.32 percent increase in sales in the year-ended Oct. 4, 2015, per IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm.

Snickers also saw positive results at the Super Bowl. The chocolate bar gained 1.5 billion impressions from its Brady Bunch-themed TV spot, the winner of the inaugural Super Clio advertising award. The ad was the second most shared ad during the game, according to Mars.

In edited comments below, Clements discusses Mars’ NFL and NASCAR partnerships, new activation programs for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and more.

On the thinking behind the NFL
The NFL is more popular than ever, and it taps into the broader culture in ways few things can. Our marketing objective behind the NFL partnership is to increase our share to reach the 317 million household snacking occasions that occur during the NFL regular season, playoffs and Super Bowl.

We use this enormous platform to deliver rich, relevant messages to consumers, and make our brands an integral part of the game day experience.

On the evolution of the NFL partnership
The NFL continues to grow – and smart sponsors look for strategic ways to evolve with it. Each year we try to raise our game with new exciting NFL-themed displays, custom packaging, breakthrough consumer promotions and compelling media. But you also need to adapt with your consumers.

Two great examples of our brand activations are fantasy football and social media. Ten years ago, those areas were a blip on the radar. But now the second screen and fantasy are critical parts of any game day. We saw the potential early, so we prioritized social content and our connection to fantasy to create deeper in-roads with NFL fans.

On activating the 2016 Super Bowl
With Super Bowl 50 just months away, 2016 will be the biggest NFL season yet. And we wanted to implement activations that feel just as big.

We recently kicked off a variety of in-store sweepstakes and instant-win promotions across multiple Mars brands backed by national displays, thousands of prizes and custom packaging. We also are remaining active all season long with media partnerships and activations involving fantasy football, digital media, PR and social media content.

On using NASCAR to promote M&M’s Crispy
NASCAR is a major investment for M&M’s and Mars and gives us the opportunity to reach a passionate fan base who love our products.

Every season, we try to make our NASCAR activation an extension of our core marketing activities, which for 2015 is the return of the wildly popular M&M’s Crispy, along with our summer movies platform. Not only did we implement a custom M&M’s Crispy paint theme on the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota throughout the season, M&M’s celebrated the product’s return with a short video homage to the legendary NASCAR-themed movie Days of Thunder – with a Crispy twist.

Candy Makers Develop Sweet Tooth For Sponsorship

As demonstrated by The Hershey Co.’s new five-year partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee, candy makers are finding sponsorship to their liking.

Candy makers use sponsorship to accomplish three primary objectives:

Gain platforms for retail promotions

Drive sales during key consumption periods

Sample product

Retail promotion plays a key role in Hershey’s USOC partnership. Hershey reportedly plans to activate the sponsorship via the USOC’s “Power Of” marketing campaign, around which the chocolate manufacturer will partner with Budweiser, Coca-Cola and other USOC partners to gain in-store display under the Team USA banner.

The confectionery will use the tie to promote Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Brookside dark chocolate, Krave jerky and other products.

Other recent deals in the candy category include Red Vines and the Pac-12, Bit-O-Honey and Roush Fenway Racing and Three Musketeers and Oddball Comedy and Curiosity Festival.

The deals come amid lackluster growth. Sales in the chocolate candy category rose 2.6 percent in the year-ended Oct. 4, 2015, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm.

Where Candy Companies Spend Money

The Most Active Candy Companies (By Number Of Deals)

Sponsorship Spending In The Candy Category

Who Does What: Chocolate Candy

Sales at U.S. supermarkets, drugstores, mass market retailers, gasoline/c-stores, military commissaries and select club and dollar stores in the year-ending Oct. 4, 2015, per IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm (@iriworldwide).

Mars is leveraging the 2015-2016 NFL season with themed packaging and displays touting a text-to-win promotion dangling tickets, Xbox One consoles and coupons redeemable for a free Snickers bar.

IEG Sponsorship Report

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